Method for applying bands to a roof

ABSTRACT

An idler pulley is positioned at one end of a roof framework and a driven pulley at the opposite end of the roof framework. A continuous loop of band material is formed around both pulleys, and the free end of a supply of band material from a coil of band material on the ground is fastened to the continuous loop of band material adjacent the idler pulley and the driven pulley is operated to pull a length of the band material from the ground across the roof. The length of band material thus pulled across the roof is disconnected from the loop, cut from its supply, and attached to the roof framework parallel to the roof purlins to support sheet insulation to be installed in the roof structure.

United States Patent [191 Alderman [4 1 Nov. 5, 1974 [76] Inventor: Robert Joe Alderman, Rt. 4,

Lawrenceville, Ga.

[22] Filed: June 29, 1973 [21] Appl, No.: 375,043

3,665,671 5/1972 Ferris et a1 52/747 Primary ExaminerHenry C. Sutherland Attorney, Agent, or Firmlones, Thomas & Askew [57] ABSTRACT An idler pulley is positioned at one end of a roof framework and a driven pulley at the opposite end of the roof framework. A continuous loop of band material is formed around both pulleys, and the free end of a supply of band material from a coil of band material on the ground is fastened to the continuous loop of band material adjacent the idler pulley and the driven pulley is operated to pull a length of the band material from the ground across the roof. The length of band material thus pulled across the roof is disconnected from the loop, cut from its supply, and attached to the roof framework parallel to the roof purlins to support sheet insulation to be installed in the roof structure.

4 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures 1 METHOD FOR APPLYING BANDS TO A ROOF BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to roof structures, and is more particularly concerned with a method and apparatus for applying bands for supporting sheet insulation or other roofing material in a roof structure.

There is a frequently used roof structure for metal buildings wherein rafters made of I-beams or the like are assembled to form the slope of a roof, and a plurality of purlins are connected at their ends to the rafters in equally-spaced parallel rows along the roof line. Elongated sheets of insulating material are then placed upon and span across adjacent rows of purlins, and the final roofing material, e.g., corrugated sheet metal, is placed over the insulation. The sheets of insulation material are flexible and are stores and handled in reels and are not self-supporting when stretched between adjacent rows of purlins and tend to droop or sag; therefore, some support means is normally placed between the purlins to support the insulation and prevent sagging. Such a roof structure is illustrated in US. Pat. No. 3,559,914.

It has been found that flat bands of metal or the like are suitable for supporting the sheet insulation material spanning adjacent rows of purlins with the bands being stretched across the full length of the roof, parallel to the series of purlins and located therebetween. Previous methods of installing these bands have been costly due to the number of people required to install the bands, and the time required to measure the band material, cut it to appropriate length and install the bands between adjacent rows of purlins. The usual roof band installation method requires three people. A continuous length of band material is fed from the ground to the roof. A first worker on top of the roof framework receives the free end of the band on one side of the building and walks to the opposite end of the roof with the free end of the band, thus pulling a length of band across the roof framework. A second worker on the roof at the first side of the building cuts the band material. thus providing one appropriate length of band material, and the second worker and a third worker on the opposite side of the roof carry the ends of the cut length of band material to the opposite edges of the roof framework and connect the ends of the band to the framework while the first worker walks back across the roof and repeats his work cycle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The method and apparatus of the present invention overcome the above-mentioned and other difficulties with the prior art by providing pulley means at each end of the roof framework. A continuous length of the roof band material is formed around the pulley means to provide a closed loop extending the full length of hte roof framework to act as carrier means for the free end of the supply of band material resting on the ground. The free end of the supply of band material is connected to the carrier and the carrier is energized to carry the free end of the supply of band material to the opposite end of the roof. A first workman detaches the leading free end of the band material from the carrier and proceeds to fasten that end to the appropriate place on the roof framework. Meanwhile, a second workman on the first end of the roof severs the band material at the appropriate length to form a length of band material and then fastens and tightens that end to the first end of the roof. Just prior to severing the band material, the second workman at the first end of the roof framework connects another portion of the supply of band material to the closed loop of band material on the carrier. This causes the new free end of band material from the supply which is formed by the severing of the length stretched across the roof to be ready for the next work cycle. While the second workman fastens and tightens the band material, the first mentioned workman operates the carrier to draw a subsequent length of band material across the roof so that the process can be repeated.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from consideration of the following specification when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a building having apparatus made in accordance with the present invention installed thereon;

FIGS. 2-5 are schematic illustrations showing the steps in carrying the end of the band material across a roof and severing a length of the band material;

FIG. 6 is a plan view, partially broken away, of a portion of a roof having bands installed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 7-9 are schematic illustrations showing the steps of fastening a length of the band material to the roof;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the clamp as used in connecting the band material to itself;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 10 showing the clamp in place;

FIG. 12 is a side elevational view of the driven pulley means;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 13-13 in FIG. 12; and,

FIG. 14 is a side elevational view of the idler pulley means, partially broken away to show the constructional details.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and to that embodiment of the invention here chosen by way of illustration, FIG. 1 shows a conventional building 15 having a roof or roof framework 16 comprising a plurality of rafters 18 and a plurality of purlins 19. The rafters 18 extend from the vertical wall of the building 15 to the crest of the roof l6, and are parallel to one another. The purlins 19 are fixed at their ends to the rafters 18 substantially perpendicularly thereto, and are arranged in a plurality of lines or rows that are parallel to one another.

Mounted at the crest of the roof 16 at each end thereof are the pulley means of the present invention. The pulley means at the left in FIG. 1 is the driven pulley 20, and the pulley means at the right is the idler pulley 21. A roll 22 of band material is rotatably carried by a reel 24, and the band material 25 passes to the idler pulley 21, across to the driven pulley 20, then back to the idler pulley 21. The pulley means and closed loop band form a carrier for band material to be inserted in the roof structure.

It will be understood that the band material 25 must be severed into lengths that are somewhat longer than the building 15, and a length of band material will be fastened across the length of the roof 16 between the longitudinal series of purlins 19. With the above brief discussion of the apparatus in mind, the method of the invention should be understandable, and attention is directed to FIGS. 2-5 for the explanation of the method.

In describing the method, it will be presumed that the pulleys 20 and 21 are in place, and the reel 24 having the roll 22 of band material is adjacent to the building, The end of the band material 25 is fed from the roll 22, over a guide 26, and under the idler pulley 21. The band material 25 is then drawn across the roof to the driven pulley 20, wrapped around the driven pulley 20, and passed back to the top d the idler pulley 21. The band material 25 is then wrapped around the idler pulley 21, and pulled beyond the pulley 21 and fixed to the band material 25 as shown in FIG. 2 by means of a clamp 28a.

It will now be seen that a closed loop 29 has been formed, the loop 29 containing the two pulleys and 21, and the supply of band material is connected by the clamp 28a to the loop 29. With this arrangement the driven pulley 20 can be caused to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow to move the clamp 28a across the roof to the pulley 20, thereby drawing a length 30 of band material 25.

When the clamp 28a reaches the pulley 20, rotation of the driven pulley 20 is stopped and the end 31 of the length 20 is severed from the clamp 28a (FIG. 4). Meanwhile, an additional short length of band material 25 is pulled by hand and the band material 25 is fixed to the loop 29 by means ofa clamp 28b. The end 32 of the length 30 can now be severed from the clamp 28b to provide a length 30 ready to install on the roof of a building.

After the length 30 has been completely removed from the loop 29, the loop 29 remains, having the clamp 28a holding the loop 29 together, and the clamp 28b holding the end of the band material 25 so that the process is ready to repeat. With the separation of each length, such as the length 30, the apparatus will be ready for another repetition with no change except the addition of a clamp to the loop 29.

As is illustrated in FIG. 6, the roof framework 16 includes rafters l8 and purlins 19. The purlins 19 are relatively short segments extending between adjacent rafters, the segments being arranged in a plurality of straight lines or rows 35, 36, and 38 that extend the length ofthe roof and are parallel to one another. Each of these lines of purlins extends beyond the last rafter 18, and the ends are joined by angle irons 39 and 40. It is to the angle irons 39 and 40 that the bands are attached by means of clamps 28.

The steps involved in fixing the bands to the angle irons 39 and 40 are shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. The first end ofa length 306 is passed around the angle iron 39, the end is lapped over the length, and a clamp 28c is used to fix the end to the band. Next, the opposite end of the length 30c is passed around the angle iron 40,

and similarly held by a clamp 28d. As shown in FIG. 8,v

howeverr, the length 30c usually will sag because it is impracticable to pull the length taut before applying the clamp 28d.

The last step in installation of the length 30c is to pull the length taut, and this is accomplished by severing the length, overlapping the severed ends, and applying a clamp 28a.

Though the band material 25 and the clamps 28 are conventional and well known in the art, the band material 25 here contemplated for use is a steel band having a relatively low malleability, such that if the material is bent sharply a few times, the material will break. Due to this characteristic, a workman can bend the band material back and forth two or three times and the material will part, making separation of an end of a length, such as length 30, from a clamp, such as clamp 28a, very easy and quick without the use of tools. Of course, if a different material is to be used, a workman may use some cutting instrument to sever the material and the method is not changed.

The clamp disclosed is shown before installation in FIG. 10 where it will be seen that the clamp 28 is a channel shaped member that is placed over overlapped portions of band material 25; then, as shown in FIG. 11, the legs of the channel are bent over the band material, and a plurality of indentations are made in the clamp. The indentations 44 are deep enough that the band material 25 is also indented so a secure joint is formed.

The apparatus used to close and indent the clamps 28 is conventional and well known in the art, and is therefore not illustrated. Furthermore, other forms of clamps, or other connecting means could equally well be used to attach the portions of band material 25.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, the driven pulley 20 includes a wheel 45 having a rim 46 and an axle 48. A sprocket 49 is fixed for rotation with the wheel 45; and, a chain 50 passes over the sprocket 49 and around a driving sprocket 51. The driving sprocket 51 is fixced to the output shaft of a gear reducer 52, the gear reducer 52 being connected to an electric motor 54 having a switch 55 and a power cord 56.

From this description it should be obvious that, when the switch 55 is closed to energize the motor 54, the driving sprocket 51 will be rotated to cause rotation of the sprocket 49 by means of the chain 50. Since the sprocket 49 is fixed to the wheel 45, the wheel 45 will be rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow. The wheel 45 is conveniently supported by a conventional yoke 58 that supports the axle 48, and is fixed to a base plate 59. The base plate 59 is specially adapted for mounting on a roof 16 in that it comprises an inverted channel having a central web 60, and depending side flanges 61 and 62. Both the motor 54 and the yoke 58 are fixed to the central web 60.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, it will be seen that the channel-shaped base plate 59 is placed over one of the purlins 19 of the roof 16. Bands 64 are passed around the purlin l9 and the base plate 59 to hold the entire pulley means 20 in place.

Looking now at FIG. 13 of the drawings, the rim 46 has opposed edges 65 that are rolled inwardly so that the loop 29 of band material 25 is prevented from slipping off the rim 46. Even with rather severe twisting or the like that may occur in separating a length of the ma terial from a clamp, the loop 29 will be restrained by the edges 65.

To assure sufficient driving friction, there is an annulus 66 of rubber or the like. The annulus 66 surrounds the bottom area 68 of the rim 46 so that the loop 29 bears against this annulus to assure a non-slip driving arrangement.

As is shown in FIG. 14, the idler pulley 21 is similar to the driven pulley 20. The idler pulley 21 includes a wheel 45' having a rim 46' and an axle 48'. The axle 48 is supported on a yoke 58, and the yoke 58 is mounted on a channel-shaped base plate 59'.

An additional feature on the idler pulley 21 is the guide roller 26. Looking at FIG. 1, it will be realized that the pulley means 21 initially receives the band material 25 from the roll 22. Since the roll 22 is below the pulley means 21, there would be a tendency for the material to drag across the cross piece 71 of the yoke 58. Guide roller 26 reduces the drag on the band material and reduces the wear on the carrier.

It should here be understood that the roof structure illustrated is most often used in industrial buildings, and in many interior building designs there is no ceiling below the roof structure; therefore, the roof as installed is visible from within the building when the building is complete. For this reason, it is desirable that the roof be as attractive as possible. It has been previously stated that the band material contemplated for use is a steel band, and this band usually has an enamel paint covering it. If the band is allowed to drag across the piece 71 of the yoke 58', there is alikelihood that the band would be scratched and become very unsightly. Thus, another reason for the guide roller 26 is to hold the band material off the piece 71 to prevent scratching.

With the foregoing discussion of the various parts of the method and apparatus of the present invention in mind, the process should now be comprehensible.

First, the pulley means and 21 would be placed on a purlin 19 and anchored in place by means of straps or the like. On most buildings, the pulley means would be placed at the crest of the roof 16; however, if the roof is exceptionally large, the pulley means would be placed at an intermediate point so the workmen would not have as .far to walk to install each piece of band material. It would be a matter of individual determination considering the tmie to move the apparatus as opposed to the time required to walk the extra distance. Regardless of where the pulley means are placed, the method would remain the same.

After the pulley means 20 and 21 are in place, the band material 25 will be fed over the guide roller 26, under the wheel 45', then under the wheel 45, around the wheel 45 within the rim 46, and back to the top of the wheel 45, around the wheel 45' within the rim 46' and back under the wheel 45. The band material 25 will be drawn somewhat past the wheel 45 to provide sufficient space to attach the band material to itself, as by the clamp 28a. The apparatus is now ready for the workmen to begin the process of measuring off and installing the lengths of band material on the roof 16.

The driven pulley 20 would next be operated. As here shown, the switch 55 would be turned on to energize the motor 54 and cause the sprocket 51 to drive, through the chain 50, the sprocket 49, which would rotate the wheel 45. Rotation of the wheel 45 will cause the loop 29 to rotate, and move the clamp 28a from the position shown in FIG. 2 to the position shown in FIG. 3, adjacent to the pulley means 20. The length 30 is therefore provided, accessible to both ends of the roof 16.

As soon as the clamp-28a reaches the pulley means 20, a workman will cease operation of the driven pulley 20 and immediately sever the length 30 from the clamp 28a, then proceed to the first location at which a hand is to be installed. When he reaches that location, he will install the band as shown in FIG. 7.

Simultaneously with the above-described action, a second workman will grasp the length 30 and pull approximately an arms length of band material 25 from the roll 22 to give the added length shown in FIG. 4. After the added length has been pulled. this second workman will install the clamp 28b or otherwise fix the band material to the loop 29 and sever the length 30 from the clamp 28b.

As soon as the length 30 is severed from the clamp 28b, the second workman will proceed to the intended location and install the length 30 as shown in FIG. 8. This same workman must tighten the band as shown in FIG. 9 and as discussed in connection therewith; therefore, while this second workman is so engaged, the first workman will have completed his installation and will return to the pulley means 20 where he will repeat the process of operating the pulley means to pull another length of band material. The entire process will be repeated until the roof 16 is properly banded. Obviously, clamps other than the type disclosed herein can be used as connecting elements in the system. For instance, spring clamps can be used to temporarily connect the band supply to the carrier, if desired.

It will thus be seen that the method and apparatus of the present invention provide a rapid system for installation of the band material using only two workmen; furthermore, the two workmen are kept busy so there is good utilization of both men during the entire job. The apparatus involved is quire simple and inexpensive, yet is durable and efficient.

Those skilled in theart will understand that the particular embodiment of the invention here shown and described si by way of illustration only and does not limit the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

I. In a method of installing roof bands in a roof structure, the steps of connecting the leading end of band material from a supply to a carrier on one side of the roof, moving the leading end of the band material with the carrier to the other side of the roof thereby extending a length of band material from the supply across the roof, creating a second connection of the band material to the carrier at the one side of the roof, disconnecting the leading end of the band material from the carrier, severing the band material ahead of its second connection to the carrier and fixing the ends of the severed length to the roof structure. I

2. A method of installing lengths of band material on a structure, including the steps of making a loop of the band material, extending the loop across the structure about a pair of spaced pulleys, fixing the free end of the band material from a supply of band material to the loop at a first end of the structure adjacent the supply of band material, and moving the loop about its pulleys to pull the leading end of band material from its supply across the structure to the second end of the structure to extend a length of band material across the structure removing the length of band material from the supply and fixing the length to the structure.

3. The method of claim 2 and wherein the step of removing the length of band material includes the steps of severing the leading end portion of the length of band material extending across the structure from the loop adjacent the second end of the structure, fixing the band material to the loop adjacent the first end of the structure, and severing the trailing end portion of the length of band material extending across the structure from the loop adjacent the first end of the structure ahead of the connection of the band material to the loop to free the length of band material from the ing tension in the length of band material. 

1. In a method of installing roof bands in a roof structure, the steps of connecting the leading end of band material from a supply to a carrier on one side of the roof, moving the leading end of the band material with the carrier to the other side of the roof thereby extending a length of band material from the supply across the roof, creating a second connection of the band material to the carrier at the one side of the roof, disconnecting the leading end of the band material from the carrier, severing the band material ahead of its second connection to the carrier and fixing the ends of the severed length to the roof structure.
 2. A method of installing lengths of band material on a structure, including the steps of making a loop of the band material, extending the loop across the structure about a pair of spaced pulleys, fixing the free end of the band material from a supply of band material to the loop at a first end of the structure adjacent the supply of band material, and moving the loop about its pulleys to pull the leading end of band material from its supply across the structure to the second end of the structure to extend a length of band material across the structure removing the length of band material from the supply and fixing the length to the structure.
 3. The method of claim 2 and wherein the step of removing the length of band material includes the steps of severing the leading end portion of the length of band material extending across the structure from the loop adjacent the second end of the structure, fixing the band material to the loop adjacent the first end of the structure, and severing the trailing end portion of the length of band material extending across the structure from the loop adjacent the first end of the structure ahead of the connection of the band material to the loop to free the length of band material from the loop.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of fixing the severed length of band material includes the steps of connecting the ends of the length of band material extending across the structure to the structure substantially immediately after the step of severing the trailing end portion of the length of band material from the loop adjacent the first end of the structure, and applying tension in the length of band material. 